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Türkiye’s Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said the government would continue its economic program despite global turbulence stemming from the Iran war, while positioning the country as a future global trade and logistics hub.
Speaking at the Anadolu Agency Participation Finance Summit in Istanbul on Thursday, Simsek acknowledged that fluctuations in oil prices would affect Türkiye’s Medium-Term Program (MTP), but stressed that the government remained committed to its main priorities.
Türkiye intended to turn current global disruptions into an economic opportunity, Simsek stressed, pointing to "can’t-miss openings" as the country seeks to become a global trade hub and attract multinational companies’ service centers to the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC).
Ankara recently advanced an investment reform package with broad tax breaks aimed at attracting foreign capital and expanding activity in the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC), as the government seeks to lure investors and multinational firms away from regional hubs such as Dubai following the Iran war.
The bill was approved by Parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission and will move to a full parliamentary vote, taking immediate effect if adopted.
Referring to the reforms, Simsek highlighted that Türkiye entered the latest geopolitical turmoil with stronger macroeconomic balances and improved financial buffers.
He noted that gross reserves had risen from around $100 billion before the economic program began in 2023 to more than $210 billion before the recent conflict, while current reserves stood near $165 billion to $166 billion.
"These buffers are built exactly for times like this," he said, emphasizing that reserve adequacy remained sufficient despite recent declines.
The minister also pointed to Türkiye’s relative resilience in financial markets, noting that the country’s five-year credit default swap (CDS) premium remained broadly stable compared to late February levels.
He added that Borsa Istanbul’s market capitalization increased from $425 billion to $516 billion during the same period.
Simsek described the current environment as a "major global shock," but noted that authorities had not changed the program’s core objectives.
He reassured that the government’s main focus remained on fighting the cost of living crisis, maintaining fiscal discipline, preserving manageable current account balances, and supporting investment, employment, production, and exports.
Investments and exports increased significantly during the program period despite weak external demand and growing competition from China.
He also acknowledged that inflation, growth, budget deficit and current account targets could diverge from official projections this year.
According to Türkiye’s latest Medium-Term Program (MTP) covering the 2026-2028 period, the inflation target was set at 16%, growth at 3.8%, the current account deficit-to-GDP ratio at 1.3%, and the budget deficit-to-GDP ratio at 3.5%.
"We are doing whatever is necessary to keep the program on track in broad terms," Simsek said, vowing to stick to the program and stressing that the government had never considered changing its core priorities.
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